Progressive group hits GOP on jobless aid

Progressive group Americans United for Change is launching a new national ad pushing to extend unemployment benefits that features three unemployed Americans discussing the impact the expiration has had on them.

The ad hammers Republicans for “continuing to ignore [the] struggle” of the 1.3 million long-term jobless Americans who lost their aid when the program expired late last year.

“I do have a husband. Thank god, or I would be homeless,” one woman says in the ad.

It’s the group’s latest volley in the fight to extend the emergency jobless aid. The AUFC launched a Christmas-themed ad late last year on the same subject.

Democrats strongly support the extension, and while many Republicans are on board, the GOP is pushing to find an offset for the $6.4 billion cost.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) postponed a procedural vote on a three-month bill on Wednesday to buy time for negotiations over an offset.

Americans United for Change recently polled five House districts — four swing districts and Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) — and found bipartisan support for extending the benefits. And a national poll out Wednesday revealed a majority of Americans support an extension of the aid.